Surreal Transportation Experience

The circumstances of my life have been a bit complex lately since DH has gone back to grad school and has an unpredictable schedule at times. We learn to adapt and roll with the punches. This is all very fun for me to watch the transformation in myself from someone who had to control every detail of every situation to someone who can roll with the punches and doesn't have to be in control. My transportation in the past few days has been that way. I didn't make any reservations for my transportation in Atlanta and discovered that MARTA works and is economical. Gosh I love public transportation and really hate the fact that we don't have that in in Kansas City.

Well here's the story.

DH drove me to the airport for my flight on Monday. The PLAN was that he would pick me up when my flight got back in on Wednesday late afternoon, but I didn't plan well. DH's schedule did not allow for me to be picked up in a timely manner. Because the airport is nearly in southern Iowa (yes, I know that is a exaggeration and I live on the other side of the metro from the airport)it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get the airport from where DH was working and we live.

So from Atlanta, I was trying to arrange transport home so I wouldn't end up sitting in the airport at KC for 3 hours. The MCI website is laid out well, EXCEPT there is no options for PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, because public transportation in Kansas City doesn't really exist.

Well I calculated what a cab would cost from the airport to my house (nearly 50 miles one way trip). A shuttle (van) wasn't much cheaper, and I emailed from Atlanta a car/limo service and they were competitive with a shared shuttle van and the cab. So I contracted with a car service for a TOWN CAR to pick me up at the airport.

I was met at the gate by a well groomed and helpful driver who handled my bags. Now remember I'm pretty much a do it yourself gal. Independent and self sufficient.

What I got when I collected my bags was the surprise of my life. A stretch limo. Now I have always fantasied about riding in a stretch limo. Riding in a stretch limo is on my list of things to do in my life. So as we walked to the waiting limo, the driver put my bags in the trunk and I must have had this weird look on my face because he said "don't ask me, they just sent me up here in this."






So for 45 minutes I got to ride in the lap of luxury in the back of this limo. I had my camera with me and took pictures. This was just too surreal. Nothing I ever expected and something that will never happen again.




Now please don't get me wrong. I loved my limo ride. I'm so glad I had my digital camera to document the moment. I know I paid dearly for this experience but I wouldn't trade this 'be nice to me' experience for anything. And I realize that I was able to have this wonderful experience because of privilege and that this option of airport transport would not be accessible to those who did not have computer access to make arrangements, a phone to make the call, or $$$ to pay.

I've been thinking a lot about how Kansas City needs good public transportation for a number of reasons and that the powers that be in this city just don't get it. I was unable to access any usable information on public transportation to and from the airport. There was information on cabs $2.50 flat rate for the first mile and then $2.00 for each additional mile. Car services and van/shuttles are competitive with taxis. Parking at the airport is $18.00 a day in the garage (many women with early and late flights like the garage for safety reasons). The least expensive surface lot is $7.50 at the airport and I don't know what the off site surface lots run, but I do know they don't have shuttle from the lot at the ungodly hour I had to arrive for my flight.

On my next trip I will think through the parking/transport better. I usually can get a ride and pick up, but in this case I couldn't. I've driven myself and parked on past flights - which is also expensive. Driving myself and parking would have cost $54.00. About $30.00 less than a taxi. All of this is sure a lot more costly than the $1.75 I paid in Atlanta to get from the airport to Columbia Seminary.

No wonder Kansas City doesn't have business clamoring to move here. It costs too much to do business in this city because there is no PUBLIC Transportation and the PUBLIC Good is not considered.